Tag: ustwo

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Monument Valley designer’s next project starts by putting people first

Ken Wong, lead designer and illusory art wizard of Monument Valley (2014), is creating a brand new world: not fantastic architecture this time, but three desks in Melbourne, Australia. He’s starting an independent studio called Mountains along with producer Kamina Vincent and programmer Sam Crisp, and he wants to put people first. Wong stated on the studio’s website that Mountains is born out of his desire to create a “more creative and healthier” type of games company. Wong’s worked at studios as varied as ustwo, who produced Monument Valley as well as the surreal VR adventure Land’s End (2015); under American McGee…
Monument Valley
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Monument Valley’s illusory architecture could become a Lego set

Monument Valley (2014) and Lego. It just feels right, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s that the puzzle game’s isometric perspective gives us the privileged view of god games, in which we build and destroy. Or perhaps more simply it’s the attention the game draws towards it brightly colored geometric mazes, eager for us to prod and spin them. Either way, there’s something about Monument Valley that makes it ripe for a transformation into modular Lego blocks. Now, there’s actually a chance of that happening. The first step towards this end goal has been made through the proposal of a Monument Valley set over…
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Awaken a neolithic civilization in Monument Valley creator’s VR debut, out today

Living in the Bay Area, Land’s End for me is the overly windy cliffside overlooking the chilly, probably densely-polluted San Francisco bay. For critically acclaimed Monument Valley creator Ustwo Games, Land’s End is something else entirely—a quiet, meditative VR game that was released today. In its Samsung Gear VR debut, an ultra consumer friendly and portable VR-headset for those with Samsung phones, Ustwo Games has crafted a surreal, completely hands-free experience. With the Gear VR, Land’s End gives players the opportunity to navigate an ancient and beautiful world, said to be inspired by isolated regions from across the world, including Iceland,…
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Let the Monument Valley studio help you meditate with this new app

Would you trust ustwo to help you relax and let out all your stress? In a way, if you’ve played through Monument Valley, you already have. I can’t speak for you but I watched my mum play that game through in one session and she was visibly chilled the hell out. I heard her deep sighs of relief and saw her entire posture deflate in that armchair over the duration. I imagine the game had a similar effect upon me.  But PAUSE isn’t a game. It’s ustwo’s latest app and one that apparently combines Tai Chi techniques with proper science…
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Monument Valley studio bring the game’s serenity to a mental health app

Anyone who played Monument Valley remembers the feeling of wellbeing that washed over them as they discovered the solution to each puzzle. It’s that sense that everything had its proper place; that things fit together and work in harmony. The world, when you manage to see it from the right perspective, simply makes sense. It was the serenity that made Monument Valley such an unforgettable and invaluable experience. Ustwo, the design studio behind the M.C. Escher-esque mobile gaming masterpiece, teamed up with psychologists to combine the emotional tranquility of Monument Valley with wellness science to create a powerful digital tool.…